The mood back home couldn't have been more different compared to the day before. Grandma Lonia was merrily humming some old song Nero didn't know, and even offered Sharmon a seat at the table.

He declined, though he made himself present in the kitchen, leaning his back against a wall and waited patiently for his summoner to eat. Grandma Lonia had gone out during her lunch break earlier and gotten Nero a brand new perfume, which she gave him after dinner, and told him to ask her if he needed anything else.

Apparently, the store had sold record amounts of books; and Nero was once again encouraged to keep practicing.

...he hid his arms from her with a long shirt, however, just to be sure.

After dinner, Nero allowed himself to fall flat on his bed. Sharmon waited outside his room, and made Nero wonder about him again.

The night before he hadn't slept at all, and he hadn't eaten anything since being summoned.

"I am what I am.", he recalled him saying.

What could he have meant by that?

His mind faded to black shortly after, exhausted, but satisfied with today's progress.

----------------------------------------

Nero's satisfaction, however, did not last. The following morning, at the clearance, Sharmon was giving him no quarter.

"Too slow...!"

TAK!

"Gah...!"

"On your left!"

TAK!

Nero's mind went blank with pain and he knelt, holding his left arm. Sharmon had hit him directly in a bruise he had gotten the day before.

Nero was quickly growing tired of that damn cane.

"You are applying the technique incorrectly, boy. Haste is achieved when keeping a calm mind, not in a panic."

"I can't keep a damn calm mind with you keep hitting me all the time...!", Nero snapped.

"You shall learn to, if you wish to succeed in your test."

Sharmon took a step forward towards him.

"Your enemies will not give a damn about your feelings or your well-being, brat. They will kick you to the ground and take away everything from you if you show them weakness."

"Oh, yeah...", said Nero, getting back up, "because I'm full of enemies..."

Sharmon chuckled quietly.

"Naive fool. Do you truly believe you will make friends once you are accepted into the College of Mages?"

"I have every reason to think so, because I intend to.", he panted.

Sharmon stared at him as if he was looking at a dead cockroach.

"Perhaps you would, if you were to become a normal student. But you will not."

"The hell's that supposed to mean...?"

"You are set on a path towards greatness, boy.", Sharmon took another step forward, "you will learn magic others never dreamed of. You will succeed where everybody fails. You will achieve the unachievable, the unthinkable, the impossible."

Sharmon was looking at him dead in the eyes, as he always did.

"And everybody will hate you for it."

"Again with your bullshit...", said Nero.

"Hm. The sooner you heed my advice, the more betrayals you will save yourself."

Nero returned the stare back at him.

"Were you... betrayed?"

Sharmon raised his cane.

"Ready your guard, boy."

With no more time to think, Nero forced himself to defend from the relentless attacks of his familiar.

----------------------------------------

On the third day, Sharmon allowed Nero a break from the beatings. He had decided that Nero's magic reserves were far too low, which made it difficult for him to project any strong form of magic. Regardless of form, the barrier was just too weak.

Nero would spend the entire day meditating, cultivating, and doing some very basic gymnastics to strengthen his body, mind and soul.

"Remember the first day of our training. Close your eyes and accept that the world and yourself are but two halves of one same whole.", Sharmon would instruct him.

The more profoundly he understood magic, himself, arcana, and his own motivations, the more efficiently his mana -life essence- would flow through his body. Nero's reserves would increase naturally by means of practicing magic and eating a healthy diet, so for now making a less wasteful use of what little arcana Nero had was the priority.

It was a much needed rest for Nero, as it allowed him to reset his mind and keep track of his goals, instead of mindlessly trying to make a yellow barrier to prevent the next cane blow for hours on end.

The fourth day was extremely difficult. Nero had a very hard time remembering to keep his calm, and Sharmon was not slowing the pace of his training at all.

However, on the fifth day's noon...

"On your right!"

But Nero had already gotten up the barrier before the cane struck it.

"See if you can stop this, then!"

Sharmon jumped and rolled above Nero, forcing him to make a one-eighty turn and cover his entire body with an enormous wall, unable to predict the next blow.

BZZZT!

A horizontal strike towards his abdomen... blocked!

"Not... bad... eh...?", panted Nero, with a confident smile on his face.

Without saying a word, Sharmon knelt and attempted to swipe Nero's feet.

The boy jumped, but cast no magic.

Sharmon then lunged at him and began a new flurry of attacks.

Nero dodged here, there, this, that, a surprise blow to his shoulder... blocked!

He had learned to read Sharmon's patterns by now, to the point where he not always needed magic to avoid damage.

The sorcerer nodded in agreement.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"You are learning to use magic only when necessary. Very well done."

Nero smiled broadly.

"We shall stop here."

His smile dissipated immediately.

"What? Why?"

Sharmon turned around and started heading towards the woods and back to the bookstore.

"Wait...! I still have a lot to learn...!"

"You do", he said without looking back, "but you also need to rest. If you show up exhausted and injured, you will be a liability to your own interests."

"But, what if something I'm not ready for happens...!? I wanna be sure I'll be alright...!", said Nero, trying to keep up with him without tripping.

Then, Sharmon stopped.

He looked over his shoulder and stared at Nero dead in the eye.

"You have me for that. Do not forget."

He then turned around and kept walking.

Nero had no idea why, but for some reason he didn't like the tone in his voice.

For the second time in that week, Nero followed the sorcerer in silence through the lush green.

Grandma Lonia was surprised to see his grandson returning so early, to which he explained Sharmon had instructed him to take the afternoon and the whole next day off any activities and simply conserve his energy; the store didn't have as many customers as the other day, but it was still doing better than usual, so she allowed Nero to skip work and just sleep for the whole day, waking him up only for dinner before letting him go back to bed.

On the morning of the sixth day, he woke up feeling fresh. Most of his bruises were healing up fast, and at that rate they would all be gone when the test began the next day. Grandma Lonia didn't know it, but Sharmon had a part in it by casting some light healing magic on his bruises.

"It is not my field of expertise", he had said, "but this will do for now."

"Huh. Something you're bad at, eh? Who would have thought?", Nero had joked, to which Sharmon replied with a confident chuckle.

"You have not seen what I am good at, either, boy."

Damn.

Now that made him curious, but Sharmon would not elaborate, no matter how much Nero insisted him.

After enjoying a hearty breakfast, Nero decided to put on some perfume and have a walk around Nycea. Grandma Lonia allowed him to do whatever, so he only needed Sharmon's permission to do it.

"You may go," he had said, crossing his arms, "but I shall accompany you, and you will not say a word to anyone about your training."

That was fine with Nero.

Having the entire day off was something Nero hadn't enjoyed since...

Well, since he had started copying books at around ten. Even on rainy days where nobody visited the bookstore, Nero would still spend the whole day holed up in the back room, working. He stretched his arms, and took a deep breath.

Man, what a great feeling.

Nero spent the morning showing Sharmon around town, taking him to the different places and spots he knew.

"This is the government plaza. Many important buildings can be reached quickly from the roads that spread out here", Nero explained.

They also walked by the Administration Office.

"This is where I did my paperwork to participate in the exams."

The Office was busy, so Nero couldn't see if Claude was working inside, and decided not to bother him just in case.

"And this... is the Monument to the Heroes."

In front of them, the tall, marble statue of a man rose up high. He had a book in one hand, and a staff in the other.

Sharmon crossed his arms and stared at it in silence, just like he had done with all of the other places Nero had shown him.

"This statue was carved a good hundred and fifty years ago, after Arwin and his company of heroes saved Nycea from a terrible white dragon. It is said to have been a terrible battle, in which Cervantes, the most renowned mage of his time, died. It was originally erected in his memory, but in the following decades the other heroes also passed, and so it became a monument to them all, in a way."

"Oh, and just around this corner there's a restaurant. Grandma Lonia gave me some money, why don't we go inside? I've always wanted to try their food!"

"Suit yourself."

Sharmon followed Nero into the restaurant: it had two stories, but Nero found a good table for two in a corner and sat there with the sorcerer.

The customers were looking at him and whispering among themselves, but almost nobody had interrupted him on the streets.

Apparently, the fever of the first round of testing had somewhat died down, though everybody seemed to be on edge due to the second round due to start the following day.

A beautiful woman in her thirties approached the table and addressed Sharmon.

"What can I get you, sugar?", she asked him with a well-practiced smile.

The sorcerer did not even so turn his head towards her.

"Ah. He's just my familiar, I'm the one who's going to order.", Nero intervened.

The waitress seemed a little taken aback for a moment, but immediately smiled again at Nero.

"What will you be having?"

"I'll take the... mystery ingredient soup."

"And for a drink?"

"Water.", said Sharmon before Nero could even respond.

He sighed.

"Yes, water...", he agreed with a resigned tone.

The honeybrew would have to wait, it seemed.

The waitress fetched two glasses of water, and left them to their own devices for only a minute before coming back with an enormous bowl of soup. The cook must have prepared it in advance for the customers.

"Enjoy your meal.", she smiled at the boy.

"Thanks!"

Nero took a spoonful, blew some air towards it, and took it to his mouth.

It was delicious!

And also, a little spicy. That was fine, Nero liked spicy dishes anyway.

"You sure you don't want some?", he asked Sharmon.

"Just eat your food."

"You know, I'm still not used to you not sleeping or eating. It's really weird. Wait a minute..."

Nero widened his eyes, as if an epiphany had dawned on him.

"You're not a...", he lowered his voice to a whisper, and leaned forward, "you're not undead, are you...?"

"I am not, brat. The stench of rot would permeate me if I were."

"No, yeah, well... I guess you're right."

Nero grabbed another spoonful.

"You're still a weirdo, though."

And took it to his mouth.

A feminine laughter interrupted Nero's dinner. He thought he had heard that voice somewhere before...

Looking around, it only took him a moment to find the source of the pleasant sound.

A brown-haired girl was enjoying her lunch at a table next to a window, on the opposite wall of the restaurant. She was sharing a table for eight, and it was full of youths.

"Elanee..."

One of them was a tanned boy with sharp eyes.

"Owen...? And that girl over there is Silvy..."

Indeed, it was a table comprised exclusively of College participants.

Damn it! They must have agreed to that after the first round, but Nero missed out because he was at the infirmary!

Nero wanted to get up, but Sharmon, still sitting, stopped him with his cane.

"Where do you think you are going?"

"Uh... to that table over there. There's a bunch of friends I wanna say hi to."

"I told you before, boy. You have no friends."

"Again with that? Dude, they haven't done anything wrong to me."

"They organized a celebration.", said Sharmon.

"Yeah!"

"Without you."

"Well... I mean, yes, but it couldn't be helped! I was unavailable."

"Everybody knows where you live, brat. They could have told your grandmother about it for her to pass on the message to you."

"But..."

"And chose not to."

Nero pressed his lips and sat down again.

He still disagreed with Sharmon, but decided not to argue and keep eating his soup. It was true that he wasn't invited, after all, no matter how much it displeased Nero to accept it.

He also had no idea if any of them had noticed him, but if they had, no one had gotten up to greet him or invite him over there, either.

Damn, now he felt like crap.

Disheartened, Nero finished his meal without looking at that table again. By that time, the restaurant had grown so busy it was almost impossible to look at other tables without getting blocked by a waiters and customers.

"Let's jut leave."

Nero got up, but Sharmon stopped him one more time.

"What now? I already paid for the meal."

"The waitress was polite to you, boy.", he squinted his eyes, "leave her a tip."

Now those were some words Nero had never thought Sharmon would say.

"...how much do you think I should leave her?"

"Considering the price of your meal, a bronze quarter seems appropriate."

Nero took the coin and left it on the table, next to his empty glass, and finally was allowed to get up.

The waitress noticed him and approached the table to take the plate and glasses away.

Sharmon's glass was still full.

"Did you enjoy your lunch?", she asked him.

"Yes, it was delicious", Nero returned the smile.

He quickly grabbed the coin and handed it to her, but her hands were already full.

"That's fine, dear, you can drop it here."

Her apron had an open pocket in front of her waist.

Nero let it fall in it, and heard a mute clink coming from it.

"Thank you love, hope to see you again."

"Me too," said Nero, "no, wait I mean thanks, haha..."

He ran away, his face beet red with shame.

"That was so embarrassing...!", said Nero, once outside.

Sharmon crossed his arms.

"You have no idea how to speak to a lady.", he sentenced.

"Very observant of you", frowned Nero.

He sighed.

"Let's just go back home. I don't wanna be here anymore."

Good thing was, the whole thing with the waitress had made him forget the pain of rejection he had felt regarding the other participants.

Nero decided to rest indoors for the remainder of the afternoon. He had started walking back home, followed by Sharmon, when Nero stopped abruptly.

He turned around slowly...

Someone was watching him.

People passed by and mostly looked at him with curious eyes, many recognizing him as a participant in the exams.

But no, it wasn't those people he was looking for.

Someone was observing him with intent. But... what intent? Friend or foe? He couldn't tell.

"So, you can feel it too.", said Sharmon, staring dead ahead.

"It's so weird... his has never happened to me before...", frowned Nero, still searching around him.

"Your body is getting accustomed to being in unison with the arcana around it. The cultivation techniques I have taught you are unknown to most practitioners, so not everybody can do this. It means you are learning well and fast."

"But who could it be...? And why don't they show themselves...?"

"We have no way to know. My own powers are as limited as yours at the moment, and focus alone is not enough in this scenario."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"We head back to the bookstore. If we are still being followed by them, we lure them to the forest."

"Understood."

Feeling nervous, but accepting the possible challenge, Nero walked on out of the city, but by the time he arrived at his neighborhood, the presence had disappeared. It looked like the presence, whoever it was, had been left behind at Nycea.

"Do not concern yourself with this matter, kid. This individual is bound to reveal themselves sooner or later. For now..."

He turned and looked at Nero.

"You must rest."

The boy took a deep breath and allowed himself to relax his muscles a little.

"Yeah, you're right."

Nero resumed the walk back home. It would only be a few hours until the second round of exams began, and he would have to be as ready as possible for it.